Stormdrains
are designed to handle stormwater runoff only and do not provide
treatment to water or anything else that enters the system. The City of
Charlottesville,
the County of
Albemarle, Piedmont Virginia Community
College, the University
of Virginia and the Virginia Department of Transportation manage the stormdrain systems throughout our
community. They are responsible for educating the public and soliciting the help
of citizens to report sightings or evidence of suspicious substances being dumped
down stormdrains or directly into our local surface waters. Bad smells,
unnatural colors or
dead fish, for example, are signs that something
harmful has entered the water. As part of their Illicit Discharge
Detection and Elimination (IDDE) program, the members of the RRSEP have
set up a Hot Line number to call (975-0224) and a form
to fill in for citizens who suspect
that they have witnessed illegal dumping into a stormdrain or water pollution
incidents. If you are not sure whether an illicit discharge has
occurred, we suggest you report it anyway, and we can determine whether
some action is required to protect the water supply and/or the
environment.

What
are Some Examples of Illicit Discharges?

Proper
disposal of common household chemicals and products is important to
prevent pollution of our local waterways. Under no
circumstances should any of the following (or other chemicals) be disposed of down a storm drain or directly into a
local waterway: